JuJu Smith-Schuster turns down Ravens and Chiefs to stay with Steelers on 1-year deal
The Pittsburgh Steelers keep an offensive weapon in JuJu Smith-Schuster for the 2021 season.
By Jeff.Hartman@BnGBlitz Updated Mar 19, 2021, 1:30pm EDT
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen many of their free agents leave to find new homes in the NFL. Players like Bud Dupree, Tyson Alualu and Mike Hilton are all calling a new team home. But one big name had yet to sign with another team.
That name was JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The longer Smith-Schuster remained a free agent, it seemed as if the chances were greater he would potentially return to the Steelers. Low and behold, Friday afternoon Smith-Schuster decided to stay in Pittsburgh, turning down offers from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to do so.
This from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network:
JuJu to the #Steelers on a 1-year worth $8M, source said. He had better offers from the #Ravens and the #Chiefs. But stays in PIT. https://t.co/Kz9aaR1srN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2021
See what Smith-Schuster said himself on his verified Twitter account about returning:
This is my home, they’re gonna need a wrecking ball to take me outta here! PITTSBURGH I LOVE YOU, LET’S GO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/SPFvCLUmFl
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) March 19, 2021
So what did Smith-Schuster turn down to come back to Pittsburgh? According to NFL Network’s Taylor Bisciotti, the deals were as follows:
— Taylor Bisciotti (@TaylorBisciotti) March 19, 2021
Additionally, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Eagles were also in the mix with a larger contract.
JuJu Smith-Schuster also turned down more money on a multi-year deal from the Eagles than he took to return to the Steelers, per source. The Eagles’ were a secret suitor. But Smith-Schuster loved Pittsburgh and its fans too much to leave. https://t.co/X8gitZYxwd
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2021
The return of Smith-Schuster might be viewed as him signing a one-year “prove it” type deal. With the salary cap dipping to $182.5 this year, it is safe to say Smith-Schuster is betting on himself to play well, and earn more money in 2022 when the salary cap is expected to balloon up over $200 million dollars.
In his four years in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster has seen his role tweaked as the wide receiver room has changed. Taking a league by storm his first two seasons, Smith-Schuster earned a Pro Bowl bid in 2018 when he had 1,426 receiving yards on 111 receptions. After an injury riddled 2019, as well as missing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Smith-Schuster led the Steelers in receptions in 2020 with 97. His 831 receiving yards last season was third on the Steelers behind Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, and his nine receiving touchdowns was tied with Claypool.
Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes on the Steelers as [Reply]
Originally Posted by MAHOMO 4 LIFE!:
Could’ve gotten JuJu now we left with D Rob
D Rob is pretty solid and has a repour with Patrick. Why him and Sorenson get shit on so much is a fucking mystery. Some of you fucks would bitch if you found Megan Fox naked on your kitchen table in the morning. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Otter:
D Rob is pretty solid and has a repour with Patrick. Why him and Sorenson get shit on so much is a fucking mystery.
They're just pissy that not everything went KC's way in free agency basically through no fault of Veach or the Chiefs. It was clear that Williams and Juju had no intention at all to sign with us unless we went WAY over the offers they got with their original teams. Probably not the smartest thing to do.
Sorensen still has shit thrown his way from the time he was pretty much one of our starting safeties. And yeah, in those cases, he's not a good player. Same thing with Robinson. Multiple times when he's been forced to be the #2 (or that time he was the #1 against the Colts... bleeechh) the offense has pretty much grounded out. He didn't help matters last year when he picked up this newfound fumbling habit, either.
All of these guys are depth only. They've been productive in those roles in the past, and ideally that's where they stay. I don't blame people for wanting to see someone better in those roles in case we suffer an injury or two, but they both cost nothing (well, Robinson does... not sure about Sorensen) and every championship team has guys like them on the team. It's not the end of the world that they're still here. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
They're just pissy that not everything went KC's way in free agency basically through no fault of Veach or the Chiefs. It was clear that Williams and Juju had no intention at all to sign with us unless we went WAY over the offers they got with their original teams. Probably not the smartest thing to do.
Sorensen still has shit thrown his way from the time he was pretty much one of our starting safeties. And yeah, in those cases, he's not a good player. Same thing with Robinson. Multiple times when he's been forced to be the #2 (or that time he was the #1 against the Colts... bleeechh) the offense has pretty much grounded out. He didn't help matters last year when he picked up this newfound fumbling habit, either.
All of these guys are depth only. They've been productive in those roles in the past, and ideally that's where they stay. I don't blame people for wanting to see someone better in those roles in case we suffer an injury or two, but they both cost nothing (well, Robinson does... not sure about Sorensen) and every championship team has guys like them on the team. It's not the end of the world that they're still here.
Agree 100%.
It's just that Patrick's, Travis's, and Hill's aren't easy to come by. This is arguably the most talented team in the league and people still find a reason to bitch.
Originally Posted by Nickhead:
jj simply didn't want to settle for 600 yards and 3 td's when he could in theory be the number one guy next year in pittsburg :-)
This is a good point. Kelce and Hill are SO good, FA receivers are afraid they won't get looks and numbers here, thereby ruining future contract numbers. I'm assuming. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Otter:
D Rob is pretty solid and has a repour with Patrick. Why him and Sorenson get shit on so much is a ****ing mystery. Some of you ****s would bitch if you found Megan Fox naked on your kitchen table in the morning.
Clarification: #Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is having surgery, source said, but the surgery has not happened yet. It will, but it hasn’t yet. The decision to have surgery came last night. His status remains the same, as he is expected to miss the season. https://t.co/H3vwleS6fF
Originally Posted by TribalElder:
Andy should have made a tiktok of himself dancing on a steelers logo
JuJu career numbers with the steelers
team record
2017 - 13-3
2018 - 9-6
2019 - 8-8
2020 - 12-4
two playoff games ever both losses
2017 - LOSS - 42-45 Jacksonville over Steelers
2020 - LOSS - 37-48 Cleveland over Steelers
keep dancing you ****ing wierdo
UPDATE
3 playoff games all 3 losses
2017 - LOSS - 42-45 Jacksonville over Steelers
2020 - LOSS - 37-48 Cleveland over Steelers
2021 - LOSS - 42-21 Kansas City over Steelers [Reply]
